[PP-F24] Disturbing One's Slumber <<Alkor>>

[Jomei 0]

- Baldur's Residence: Valentine's Day Tournament

If it weren't for the fact that he had turned to follow Alkor from the main event, he never would have been able to find him amongst the labyrinth of a compound. Crossing over bridges and passing small buildings that mostly looked the same, one could easily get lost if not familiar with Baldur's place of residence. His eyes peered down into a small pond that ran under the bridge he walked across. A small group of Koi fish lingered with minimal motion before frantically scattering at the drop of a fallen leaf into the pool. A hut, very similar in design to the dojo where the tournament was taking place, seemed to be the location Alkor had slipped away to. Chatting voices and commotion from the group behind him could still be heard, just at a softer volume. It seemed he wanted to get away, but maybe not too far.

Jomei's reasoning for wanting to speak with Alkor was to ask about how he apparently survived death, according to Lessa. At least, thats what he was telling himself. An excuse to talk to the man, so to speak. He was awfully curious about the man whom Lessa seemed to hold dear. Or, perhaps, it was simply him overthinking mere mentions in a conversation. Toying with the various reasons he wanted to speak with Alkor became meaningless as he stepped through the open panels of the dark room. Within, he saw the man slumped against the far wall, the expression on his face one of pain, rather than comfortably sleeping. 

With slow steps, Jomei approached before lowering himself to a squat before the man. He seemed to be asleep.. possibly dreaming? Perhaps it was best for him not to be rudely awoken by a stranger squatting in front of him. So, shifting his weight, Jomei instead sat beside Alkor, leaning his back against the wall and looking out through the open panels at the serene landscape. After a brief moment, Jomei would let out a small sigh. "You definitely found a nice place to slip away, huh?" he would ask rhetorically to the sleeping man. 

Spoiler

 

Level: 32 | Paragon: 53 | Tier: 4 | HP: 840| EN: 121

Jomei: 840/840 HP | 122/122 EN | DMG 23 | MIT 44 | EVA 3 | ACC 4 | BH 46 | HLY BLS 16 | BLD 48 | FLN 8 | AA | LD 1 | F.Sprt.

Equipment
Nihilim's Wrath  : Abs Acc | Bleed | Fallen
Vestige of St.Patrick: Holy B| Mit | EVA | EVA
Alatreon's Will: ACC | ACC | ACC

Rending Familiar: Adere

Skills
Saber R5 | TECH Spec.
Combat Mastery DMG R3
Cloth Armor R5
Charge
B Healing R5
Energist
Fighting Spirit
MA R2
Extra:
Concentration
Survival (x)
Meditation (x)
Parry
Forgotten Kind's Authority
Photosynthesize (x)
Brawler (x)
Hiding R.3

Mods
Athletics (x)

Addons
Stamina (x)
Ferocity (x)
Precision (x)
Nimble (x)

Buffs: 
Laurel Wreath: Earn col equal to 15% of EXP earned at end of thread
Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat    
Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)    
Dining Room: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast.
Living Room: Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts

 

 

[Alkor 0]

Spoiler

Alkor
740/740 HP 100/100 EN

Base Damage: 23 Mit: 30 Acc: 5 Eva: 3 Blight: 32  In addition, a target afflicted with Blight loses 20 Mitigation for 2 turns Bleed: 48 Paralyze Battle Healing: 50/turn Survival: 10% increase to healing effects

• Total EXP: 176719
• Total SP: 185
• Current Level: 32
• Paragon Level: 29
• Unlocked Paragon Rewards:
  • Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 10% of EXP earned in that thread.

The taste of sherry cake was a welcome reprieve from the Cardinal system's falsification of true flavor. The scent reminded him of home, and the sight of his family gave him a moment of excitement. They were there at the table, sharing Christmas dinner, talking... and his chair was empty. He could see his grandmother smiling at his sister, and his father and mother found their one day of civility a year. They found peace, unity, and happiness in his absence. The one eyesore in the family, their greatest failure, the man who had retreated from their world into the virtual. In that moment, Alkor recognized that the family had finally bridged their differences once the weight that held them down had been jettisoned. 

"That game brought our family back together," his sister said. He heard her clearly. His eyes moved to his mother, then his father. Neither of them denied it. "We'll never have to cater to that shut in again-"

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After a brief moment, Jomei would let out a small sigh. "You definitely found a nice place to slip away, huh?" he would ask rhetorically to the sleeping man. 

Alkor's eyes did not open when the man spoke, but his expression did shift from one of anguish to something more neutral. It occurred to him that he may have been followed, but he never considered what someone might say if they did. The voice was foreign, and so the intentions were as well. "It's not so bad," he replied, still fighting the remnants of his terrible dream. The shiver that had spread to the tips of his fingers now lingered there, hidden on the opposite side of his body from the newcomer. He dug his nails into the floorboards to ground himself as his slow breaths labored to bring down his heartbeat. "Though if you followed someone you knew wanted to slip away, I'd have to assume you had a reason," he slowly opened his eyes to regard the man with a cool, sideways amber gaze.

"I don't believe we've met." He would have remembered the face if they had, though he knew that he had seen this Player in passing at some point. "What can I do for you, sir...?" he asked of the man, as neither had given their name. It might give him a better idea about what the other man wanted, if not who he was altogether. Alkor brought his arm up to rest in his lap once the trembling had stopped, one hand draped over the opposite hip.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Alkor

[Jomei 0]

Responding first with a soft, breathy scoff as he let his head gently fall back against the shoji panels encased in darkness behind him. "I'm trying to figure that out myself. Blame it on my curious nature." Turning his chin to face the man, their amber eyes looking over the one who interrupted their nap curiously, the ginger offered a more formal greeting, "Jomei. I'm sorry for disturbing you.. If I knew you were coming here to sleep, I probably would have just stayed back at the dojo." his voice was soft, but a bit sheepish. Not only for disturbing the peace of a man he had only just met, but for really having no good reason as to why.

His olive gaze broke from Alkor's for a moment as he thought of exactly what to say, what he could think drove him to talk to him. "For starters.. Lessa and I spoke recently. She brought you up a couple of times while just venting to me about what she's been going through. You two seem like good friends, pretty close." He swallowed down, trying to stop himself from going on about nothing, "She mentioned that you had died, that she mourned your death.. but somehow came back. I never pressed her deeper about that story, so I guess I'm just curious about that. If you don't mind me asking of course." 

[Alkor 0]

Alkor closed his eyes when the man mentioned him sleeping. "I hadn't intended to fall asleep, but I suppose I used more energy than I thought during my last fight." Koga might have called those last words the understatement of the year, but Alkor maintained that in order to improve he had to push himself. To that end, a small rest afterward was acceptable. The dream that came with it was less welcome. He was finally able to force a tight smile when the topic shifted to Lessa.

Was the man one of her many friends, or perhaps something else? Alkor absently wondered if he was about to be punched in the face with no pretense, but the man called Jomei seemed more interested in actual conversation than barbarism. He grunted non-committally about whether he and Lessa were good friends- certainly, they were friends, but he was still terrible at communicating and their interactions were still rocky at best. Time would mend the rift between them, but it did seem that the woman cared more than he thought.

It tracked, though. Her last flame felt the need to lash out at him, and this man mentioned that Alkor was a topic of her venting. "Ah. That." Alkor glanced back toward the water when the mention of his famed demise in the ninth floor arose. "I was ready to die, more or less, at the time. Nothing to lose, at least, not the way I was thinking. It was easy for anyone to think I was being reckless, and when the boss closed its mouth around me I thought that was it, too."

Everything that happened thereafter did so on two divergent paths. The frontliners continued to clear floors, and some few Players mourned Alkor. He faded into obscurity, a memory for people who had encountered him. For Alkor, time stopped.

"The reality of death is a bit more forceful than the abstract notion. You can prepare for it your whole life and still not be truly ready when it comes for you. I'd convinced myself that when the moment came, there was nothing left. I'd fought the good fight, and I could go... wherever came next. But that's not what I felt when I was looking down it's throat."

He shrugged. 

"So, in a mad scramble, I made a bid to live. Teleportation crystal. Disappeared in a brilliant flash of light while I was still in the thing's mouth. Not my finest moment, but I'd forgotten about a number of things I wasn't ready to let go of just yet."

Alkor opened one eye and glanced at Jomei thoughtfully. "You make a habit out of asking people about traumatic experiences the first time you meet them?" he asked.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Alkor

[Jomei 0]

It was rather rude to bring up something as such within their first conversation, wasn't it? A soft grunt managed to escape through his pursed lips, "Sorry I.. That probably wasn't right for me to ask about.." 

Alkor's escape from death seemed much more simple than he had thought, despite being rather tricky in terms of pulling it off. A well timed teleportation crystal at, what would be, the moment of demise saved him from becoming a shattered memory and another name crossed off of the Monument of Life. "I guess I wasn't really thinking straight. Then again, my mind has been a jumbled mess for awhile now." His hands slid down from atop his knees to his lap as lids closed over his eyes. "Like I said, blame my curious nature."

Another small chuckle, like some impulsive tick of his to just clear away the nerves brought by awkward silence. "Probably should have just asked Lessa about it then if I was so curious. Just wasn't really the right moment at the time I suppose." 

[Alkor 0]

"Mmmm..." Alkor reached into his shirt and produced a pipe, which he promptly struck and lifted to his lips. "It's fine, I've had to tell the story enough times that I'm almost numb to it now." There were few people Alkor had seen since his near death experience who knew about it, but those who did demanded answers more intensely than Jomei had. Each retelling desensitized him a little more, but the image of magma burned into his mind still remained.

He watched the smoke swirl out from his lips.  

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 "I guess I wasn't really thinking straight. Then again, my mind has been a jumbled mess for awhile now." 

"...yeah, that makes two of us." Alkor saw the man dissemble into an anxious mess and decided not to give him such a hard time. He took another drag and closed his eyes again. "This place doesn't really do anyone any favors." He held the smoke in for longer than usual to let his thoughts blend together and bleed away from the forefront.

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"Probably should have just asked Lessa about it-" 

The words had barely left Jomei's lips as Alkor began to cough and hack violently, eyes bugged as he waved a hand. "What are you, crazy? That woman has enough on her mind, if she's venting about it you absolutely should not rehash the details with her." Alkor had lost his buzz, and with that defeat he stowed his pipe and sat upright. "My experience with Lessa is that she worries a lot and gets hung up on things. Things that don't make sense to me." He shrugged again. "Anyway, no, you did the right thing. I don't understand the first thing about women, but one of the few things I've learned is that if you don't understand what they're talking about, you just pretend you do and figure it out later."

[Jomei 0]

Only half of Jomei's sentence hung in the air before Alkor broke into a coughing fit, triggered by the ginger's apparently bad idea to have Lessa explain what happened to Alkor from her point of view. "Yeah, suppose you're right about that. She had enough on her plate, still does probably.. We don't need her reliving that memory if it was that painful to her." Jomei shifted his position, letting one leg fall to the mat, sitting perpendicular to his other leg, with palms pressed into the mat at his sides to support his weight. "She does seem to stress a lot.. Though those that care about others as much as she does tend to over worry." he would say with a small shrug of his shoulders, "And what she told me seemed like pretty valid reasons to get hung up on.. in my opinion at least." A hand ran across his forehead, his hair still pulled back into a messy ponytail on the back of his head with loose strands out of place, "I'm just trying to help her out of that rut, you know? She always came across as such a happy-go-lucky girl.. so when she came to me to let me vent about my shite, and I ended up opening the floor to her problems instead, I was pretty shocked to hear what she told me." Olive eyes shifted to look over at Alkor once more. ".. I'm talking about her a bit much aren't I? Don't know why.. awkward. Sorry." With a loud clear of his throat, he tried to shift topics, "Saw a bit of your fight against Koga. He's a good kid.. worthy opponent. Any idea who you'll be fighting in the next round?" 

[Alkor 0]

This man was like Lessa in some ways. Whether it was affection toward the woman or genuine concern that prompted him to gush about their conversations or if Jomei generally had the gift of the gab, Alkor could not tell. What he did absently wonder was how these talkative people somehow always seemed to sus him out and decide he would make for an excellent conversation partner. The blonde managed to stifle his groan and continue smiling as he proclaimed that their mutual friend's concerns were valid. Whatever those were, Alkor could only respond with a throaty, "mhm."

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"I'm just trying to help her out of that rut, you know? She always came across as such a happy-go-lucky girl.. so when she came to me to let me vent about my shite, and I ended up opening the floor to her problems instead, I was pretty shocked to hear what she told me." Olive eyes shifted to look over at Alkor once more. ".. I'm talking about her a bit much aren't I? Don't know why.. awkward. Sorry."

A veritable flood of words caused Alkor's jaw to go slack as he struggled to keep up with the conversation. It was clear that there were important segments of relevant information missing on his end, and he couldn't fault the man for being excited about having to share something he had in common with... but when he said that last bit, Alkor couldn't help himself but to wholly agree. 

"Yeah, Lessa's great," he summed up his entire response in those three words and left it at that. "Look, I'll level with you, I think it's great she has plenty of friends and people who care about her, but as long as you don't decide to try and turn my face into a punching bag like a Neanderthal I really haven't got much to add."

He shrugged as he dismissed the pipe into his inventory. "I was one of the first people she met in this world so I guess she worries about me more than I'm used to people worrying about me, but honestly as long as she's got good people in her corner I'm content. I'm not a great support network, and I'm a shit friend, regardless of any kind words she might have about me. She's a godsend to the people trapped in this place. You have nothing to apologize to me for, but I have to admit, I don't keep up with her as much as she'd probably like and so I don't have a ton to contribute."

Alkor wondered if that admission would offend or dishearten the man, but the topic quickly shifted to the tournament, and was washed away before any of the aforementioned awkwardness could ensue.

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"Saw a bit of your fight against Koga. He's a good kid.. worthy opponent. Any idea who you'll be fighting in the next round?" 

He took another look toward the autumnal leaves as a gentle breeze washed across the pond. A ripple careened across the surface, ruining his reflection for the span of several breaths. "I wish it had lasted longer. There were things left unsaid between us, and I barely saw the depths of his potential," Alkor sighed wistfully. "As for who is next, no, I don't know them. I'm not concerned. I will bring my all to bear, and they will answer in kind or be forced to stand aside." 

Those words were sterner than he probably intended, but he made no effort to soften them. Instead, he shrugged. "Should I lose, it will be proof that I need to throw myself into my training again." In a moment of clarity and consideration, he added, "how did your first round play out?"

[Jomei 0]

A long, drawn out groan rumbled within his throat as he turned his head away from Alkor, as if his head were swiveling on a rusty hinge. "I'd.. rather not talk about it." his voice a little louder than a mutter; sheepish and dismissive, "I lost, pretty badly." Puffing out his cheeks, Jomei let the shame blow out of his body with an exhale before turning back again. "Okay, maybe one of the reasons I came out to talk to you was because we both have that friendship with her in common, now that I think about it. Wanting to know the story behind how you escaped death was just the driving point, I suppose.. but I didn't come out here to just chat with you about her." His eyes unfocused for a moment, as if thinking on what he had just said, "At least.. that wasn't my intention, even though it kind of seems like I did." The pale skin of his cheeks flushed a slight pink, feeling a bit silly about this whole thing. 

Jomei continued to backtrack into Alkor's responses, going back bit by bit as he processed what the man had told him. The blush to his face faded and brow lowered, more curiosity that stemmed from the man's stories. "I hope its not another traumatizing experience I'm about to ask about.. but what do you mean you were turned into a punching bag? What did it have to do with Lessa?" 

[Alkor 0]

"Ah," Alkor replied evenly when the man indicated he would rather not discuss his loss. They had that in common. Asking about it was a matter of congeniality more than interest. Still, the man continued, and he revealed that he had lost. Equally something Alkor would prefer not to talk about, but for different reasons. If he had time to lose a fight, he had time to get back to improving so he would not lose again. Lessa had once pointed out that his mind operated on a single track, in fact.

She promptly became the topic of conversation again, and Alkor closed his eyes. Had they not moved on from her? The turmoil that came with conversations like that prompted him toward anxiety and he disliked the inadequacy that it bred. He was trying, desperately trying to make the friendship with Lessa work in the only way he knew how- but rather than giving her space and trying not to be a burden, she wanted him to "stay in touch." 

Heck, he never even did that in the real world.

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 "I hope its not another traumatizing experience I'm about to ask about.. but what do you mean you were turned into a punching bag? What did it have to do with Lessa?" 

Alkor recalled that moment with a spark of actual hatred in his eye. "Not at all, I don't feel a bit traumatized by the grandstanding of apes," he spat, his words filled with venom. "That Bahr guy, though I didn't know him all that well. The psychopath decided to punch me in the face and said I'd made Lessa cry, or something. Establishing some kind of perceived dominance, I guess." His gaze softened a bit. "I'd cry too if I watched someone I knew die, even if I wasn't incredibly close with them." That was the closest he had come to comprehending how Lessa felt, despite the fact that they had talked about it at length. 

He was, by his own admission, not good with feelings.

"I know firsthand Lessa wants something... no, maybe she needs something- or someone- to care about. And like I said, I cant begin to understand that. We're different people. But what I do know is that theres an ugly side to mankind that will exploit people like her, who have boundless kindness and love to give freely," "he said with a shrug, "I don't like people like that, who take advantage of people's kindness. I think the kind people are the ones who deserve to be protected more than anyone. But, I also don't think you're like that fuckstick, so I'm not particularly worried about it."

Clueless as Alkor normally was, he was not a blind man. Jomei's mannerisms, his borderline fixation- those were something he knew at least a little about. This guy didn't want to own Lessa, or savagely ward off other men. He wanted to know her friends, and talk about her with them. Finally, someone was talking to him in a way he could remotely understand.

Alkor let out a long, audible sigh.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Alkor

[Jomei 0]

As far as he could remember, Jomei's never shared two words with Bahr. Been in the same room with him, never did anything to cause him to bat an eye. Apparently did enough with their life to make a dear friend of his happy - at one point at least. 

These past two conversations where Bahr was a topic made his blood boil, if the scowl Jomei wore on his face didn't make the resentment he held towards the man apparent. From what Jomei made of it, Bahr went from some knight in shining armor, to an overprotective arse, to a withdrawn prick. "What the hell is this guys problem?" the question rhetorical, for he really didn't care, just felt the need to express the bad taste that talking about him left in his mouth. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that." he added with a suck of his teeth. "I told her to leave his ass. That she deserved a lot better. Not even someone else, just a better life. Told her to focus on herself a bit.. maybe some self searching to make her feel better about herself. Then see if someone better comes along."  

He had caught on to what Alkor was hinting at, relating Jomei's personality to Bahr in relation to the woman. Jomei opened his mouth to speak, to deny it. Nothing came out but air. Probably wasn't best to keep ignoring it. "Yeah.. Suppose you're right. I'm nothing like that.. fuckstick." he chuckled a bit, repeating the word, "I still don't think I'm deserving of someone like her though. But I'm happy where I am, just keeping to the sidelines, and making sure everyone else is happy." The grin he shone was honest, sincere, but a bit forced. 

[Alkor 0]

Alkor's gaze softened a bit as Jomei spoke, focused on the water garden as light dance across the surface. "Some of us will go our entire lives and never deserve people like Lessa," he muttered. "Not as a friend or anything else. The weird thing about people like her is that they don't care. I figure it's called grace, or at least, that's how someone important to me described it- the whole idea of being forgiven, even when you have no right to be. Some folks are just built different. No matter how many times people spit on them, they keep taking it."

It was different for him. He couldnt comprehend being forgiven, for anything, by anyone. The very idea made him sick, like the kindness was wasted on him. But he knew the rhetoric. He could recite it from memory. "Maybe you'll get more out of her words than I did," he reached up and pressed his hand to the wall, pushing off it to stand. "You're right. Lessa deserves good people around her. She deserves love, friendly love, not just the romantic kind. So do right by her, be supportive just like you're already doing, and don't worry about whether or not you deserve it."

He knew how absurd that sounded coming from him. He knew how urterly banal, how hypocritical it was. Alkor could not look the other man in the eyes at that point. He was exhausted, socially, mentally, and physically. 

"I do enough of that for the both of us," he added as he turned to fully look out at the leaves, his arms crossed. "The only thing I know how to do is push myself. To strive toward perfection, hoping one day I'll be adequate." The words sounded so simple, yet their depth threatened to drown him. 

He felt more comfortable at arm's length than he did taking a hand that reached out for him. He always had. Jomei wanted to help people, to help Lessa- and Alkor could genuinely see that. Maybe, just maybe, someone would get it right. 

"...one day," he repeated, the images of his family slowly playing back through his thoughts. He clutched at his sleeves absently and let the cool breeze take responsibility for the chill that ripped through his body. He glanced back at the man with a more neutral expression, now.

"I'm going to take a walk," he said. "I think I caught a chill."

Edited February 11, 2022 by Alkor

[Jomei 0]

Eyes followed Alkor as he pushed himself up to a standing position, head remaining unmoving. His thoughts lingered for a moment on what Alkor had called grace and what that meant. More importantly, if it was relevant to his position. Jomei, sadly, was to type to always make amends, if he ever needed to. As far as he knew, however, he had never done anything that would truly require forgiveness. As his head finally turned to match his gaze, he wondered if Alkor's words were meant for Jomei.. or for himself. 

"Do you feel like you don't deserve forgiveness or something?" he finally said, partially ignoring Alkor's mention of taking a walk. Rising to his full height, he looked across at Alkor with a hardened expression. "I don't know you too well... At all, really. But something in your words, your expression, tells me that you don't practice what you're preaching to me."  Hands rose to the front of his chest, defensive but in a loose way. "I don't mean any offense by that, I'm just trying to piece what you've told me together.. From your point of view, that is." 

[Alkor 0]

"Hmpf." Alkor let out a tiny chuckle when the man asked him directly about forgiveness, and whether or not he believed he deserved it. That was never a question for him. More to the point, his gaze toward the other man was uninhibited now. "It's not pertinent to me, it just sounded applicable to your situation," he replied. "You can take it or leave it, no harm no foul."

He slowly blinked and glanced back toward the dull roar of voices, cheering, booing, excited. "We're all in this place together, but we come from different worlds," Alkor said. "And some of us live in this world, set apart from others. We don't operate on the same systems. I don't tell them they're wrong for enjoying each other's company."

There was a hint of bitterness in his voice, but he was not angry. "You came here to have fun, right?" Alkor gestured down the hallway. "For you, this is a chance to meet new people, forge bonds, become stronger together," he had heard it all, and he could comprehend the rhetoric. For Alkor, though, the world was just not that simple. "For me, it's all I can do to compare and contrast myself against the best efforts of the collective. I don't fit into the framework. I don't want to fit. I want to get strong, in my own way."

[Jomei 0]

At the absence of pockets in his hakama, Jomei hooked his thumbs into the cloth belt that held the wooden bokken to his waist. Whether he had assumed incorrectly or not was not touched upon by Alkor, but a point was still made in his response. Whether he felt he was deserving of something or not didn't matter.. what mattered was that they were just different people who saw the world in different ways. Once silence settled between the two of them once again, Jomei broke it with a heavy sigh. Lids slowly closed over his eyes once more before he spoke.

"I appreciate the advice you've given me, really. For a stranger to come up on you when you were trying to just get away from everyone, not many would do that. Especially ones who prefer to be out of the company of others." he ended the sentence with a shrug of his shoulders. "I came to talk to you out of sheer curiosity and..." he delayed for a moment with mouth agape, a breathy scoff preceding his words, "Our mutual friend. It seemed like you meant a lot to her, at some point or another.. so I guess I took that as an opportunity to just talk about these damn feeling and try to make sense of them."

"But you're right.. we come from different worlds, and I shouldn't try to pretend you're part of mine just to feel better about forcing you into a conversation with someone you've never met." A hand sheepishly found its way from his belt to the nape of his neck, massaging the muscle gently, "But I have enjoyed the conversation.. whether or not you were just humoring me." Lips hooked into a smirk to show he was merely poking fun at the man. 

 

[Alkor 0]

"You can ask Lessa how well talking about emotions goes with me," he said, not laughing nearly as much as the woman probably might have if she heard those words. "I won't be much help of you when it comes to sifting through your feelings, unless you just need a brick wall to bounce them off of. In which case, I'm about that useful, and you'll get about as good of a response." Whether or not he meant it as an invitation for Jomei to continue, the man did. Worth note, Alkor seemed at least somewhat appreciative when he shifted topics, because he gave no outward sign of frustration.

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"But you're right.. we come from different worlds, and I shouldn't try to pretend you're part of mine just to feel better about forcing you into a conversation with someone you've never met." A hand sheepishly found its way from his belt to the nape of his neck, massaging the muscle gently, "But I have enjoyed the conversation.. whether or not you were just humoring me." Lips hooked into a smirk to show he was merely poking fun at the man. 

With a grunt, the darker dressed man began to walk. He had said he would, after all. Rather than motioning to dismiss the other man, he continued the conversation. Jomei could follow if he wanted, or leave it at that. Somehow, the man's persistence gave Alkor the impression that he would press on.

"We're trapped in a world where whatever satisfaction we can manage to scrounge is a precious commodity," he shrugged as they crossed one of the many bridges on Baldur's island and came upon a new scene, no less beautiful from the last. False though it was, the imitation was reminiscent of a reality that was just out of reach. "Don't worry about me. I'm certainly not worrying about anyone else," he said as koi swam beneath them, their scales reflecting the light in a way that caught Alkor's eye. He glanced toward the fish, traces of a smile playing at the edge of his lips. "And more people trapped in here with us are like me than they are you. You should be conscious of that. You'll get taken advantage of, just like Lessa."

His expression changed a bit as those words left him. 

"You just have to find what you're looking for on your own, I guess, is what I mean."

 

[Jomei 0]

Alkor was tough to read, as he had been for the entire conversation. Was he just humoring the ginger and allowing them to speak, or actually engaged in the conversation that he put forth. The advice was sound, at least, and Jomei would take it with him to ponder on later. How much, however, was spoken from the heart and how much read off of a script he had to repeat a thousand times when someone like Jomei would try to strike up conversation. Did he really act the same way around Lessa, or had something changed him since then? One could only assume being in the maw of a floor boss, to be saved by the luck of a quick reaction, would change you. 

It was obvious that Alkor was not one to share his emotions easily. Possibly with those closer to him, but not with a man who most likely was getting on his nerves at this point. The curiosity in Jomei wanted to see that thick wall crack ever so slightly, but he knew better of himself to continue prodding where he was unwelcome. Though, despite getting the sense that Alkor finally wanted to be left alone, Jomei's feet carried him forward after the man at a pace just a tad slower. But Jomei stopped his approach as he came to the edge of the small bridge, keeping to the side of the island that the two had conversed on. 

"Trust me, I'm not worried about you. Honestly, I think you've got it better off. Less you have to worry about, more you can focus on yourself." The gingers shoulders shrugged as his lips pursed into a crooked smile, "Would make life hell of a lot easier.. but like you said earlier, some people are just built different. I couldn't not care about others even if I tried." Jomei pulled his hands from his waist and crossed them his his chest as he took in one big inhale, letting it out sharply through his nostrils. "Thanks for the advice, and for letting me just talk. I'm glad to have run into you, all things considered. Gave me a chance to kind of see who you are."

[Alkor 0]

"Easier...?" he repeated the sentiment, his thoughts out of focus for a moment. "I wonder about that."

Alkor considered the man's final comment, though his eyes fled from Jomei again. He hated looking people in the eyes whenever it could be helped. Eye contact felt so unnerving, like someone could see past any number of layers of defense to his exposed heart. He could feel the other man's gaze on him, even if it weren't as intense as many that had come before. He just wanted to escape attention altogether.

To see who you are, Jomei had said. His fingers traced the wooden rail of the bridge, the smoothed cherrywood a reflection of those used in the construction of temple gardens he had often visited. Alkor remembered looking at those, at a thousand years of history or more, and wondering about them in awe. Craftsmen poured their souls into the craft of marvels, iconic architecture that baffled most modern minds. Those artisans knew who they were, and what they wanted from life. They were builders who made the dreams of an Emperor manifest.

What had Alkor built? What could he build? His fingers curled into a fist as those thoughts burned in him.

"Yeah," Alkor replied off hand. "You bet. Any time," he said, as if he was open for business. The reality was, these conversations often ended with posturing, common phrases that people said out of congeniality. He was following the script, and perhaps Jomei had surmised as much.

Still, this was one person he'd met he couldnt hate simply on principle.

He saw the smile on Jomei's face and froze for a split second. What was he to make of something like that? "...It's been good talking to you," he said, and that time, he genuinely meant it. It was good to know that people had Lessa's back, and even if he was looking for more, Alkor had the sense that Jomei would weigh Lessa's well-being above his own self-interest. 

It was good to know that the people in the game who he wanted to see safe and protected, would be.

[Jomei 0]

The smirking smile he wore pulled a bit tighter with Alkor's ending comment. Whether he truly meant it or not, Jomei would never know, but he would leave the serenity of this pondside garden believing that he did. "If you ever feel like stepping out of that world of yours, my door's always open." Offering a polite bow of his head, Jomei would finally turn from the guarded man, finally allowing them a bit of respite without Jomei's olive gaze fallen on them. A single hand rose over his shoulder with a single wave, turning his chin slightly to address him one last time, "Take care of yourself, and good luck in the next round." The next round.. thoughts returned to the tournament across the way, and what they final prize was. The ginger could not stifle a bark of a laugh, "I'm definitely curious to see who you take on that date if you end up winning it all." Of course, Alkor could probably just give the prize away, if he was truly in it to simply better himself. But the thought of him possibly having to find someone to converse with and spend a romantic night with, after the conversation the two had, brought with it an air of playful joy. Another wave to Alkor, dismissing his teasing manner, and Jomei began to head off in the direction back towards the dojo where the rest of the attendants were gathered. A curious expression rested upon his face as eyes trailed up to the sky above Baldur's island, through the canopy of leaves that clung to branches overhead. The ginger's mind went back over the conversation the two had partaken in, trying to piece everything together.. trying to see how he would proceed having admitted these developing feelings. "Ah damn.." he muttered to himself through a sigh as his sandals clacked against the wooden boards of the small bridge connecting one island and the next. 

[Alkor 0]

"...date?" Alkor blinked as the comment processed. Jomei had already turned to leave, but he'd struck the proverbial final blow as the idea slowly spread and realization sank in. "Wait, what the heck did he mean by date?" It was clear there was fine print that Alkor hadn't bothered to read, and something sinister was afoot in all of this. If he won the tournament, would he be forced to sit through an agonizing night with some randomly chosen bachelorette?

"Jesus Christ I hope not," he muttered as anxiety blossomed anew. Devoid of another human to pretend around he let his guard fall and his face adopted a look of horror. "He's probably joking, right? People do that, don't they...?"

He moved toward the wall and grabbed one of the posters that hung there, peeled it free, and stared blankly. As he read over it again, he mouthed the words. "Dinner for two...?"

Panic.

"Maybe they'll let me give the prize to someone else?" he pondered aloud. "Or... should I leave? I'm sure there will be other tournaments..."

His voice trailed off as he disappeared down the hall, back toward the staging area. If he was still cold, Alkor had forgotten all about it.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Alkor